Methods and apparatus to combine mail streams in a binding line

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture to combine mail streams in a binding line are disclosed. An example method includes analyzing a mailing list including a plurality of addresses. The example methods also includes associating a primary book with a first set of the addresses and associating a secondary book with a second set of the addresses. In addition, the example method includes creating multiple primary books on a production line and depositing multiple secondary books in the production line.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/217,979, entitled “Methods and Apparatus to Combine Mail Streams in aBinding Line” and filed Sep. 1, 2005, in the United States PatentOffice, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure pertains to printing systems and, moreparticularly to methods and apparatus to combine mail streams in abinding line.

BACKGROUND

When bulk mailings are made, significant discounts may be obtained byaddressing the items to be mailed in a particular order. For example,postal discounts may be obtained by grouping all mailings destined for aparticular zip code or, more generally, mailings destined for the samegeographic area. Bulk mailers have long recognized the postage discountsassociated with organized mailing and have typically personalizedmailings so that as the mailings emerge from a printing line, themailings are presorted.

As the bulk mailing industry has become more sophisticated, many mailershave opted to send a variety of different mailings to potentialcustomers. The different mailing may include catalogs, flyers, etc. thathave different physical configurations. For example, some mailings mayinclude different binding styles, trim sizes, or thickness variations.Historically, however, mailings of different physical configurations areproduced in separate mail streams due to equipment limitations. Forexample, a catalog of significant thickness may be processed onequipment different from that used to handle a mail stream of flyers ofrelatively less thickness. The necessity of using separate mail streamsbased on equipment limitations results in the loss of bulk mailingdiscounts that may exceed, for example, $60 per thousand pieces mailed.

Co-mailing has been used to obtain postal discounts by bundling themailing pieces of different physical configurations. In some traditionalmethods, co-mailing is an off line process in which two or more completebooks (e.g., catalogs, flyers, etc.) are merged together using a pieceof equipment called a co-mailer. A traditional method to commingle abook with flyers and other promotional materials involves using anon-serting process. On-serting is typically used to deposit flyers orother promotional materials onto a book, all of which are intended to bedelivered to the same recipient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an example book making system.

FIGS. 1B and 1C are diagrams of a portion of the example book makingsystem of FIG. 1A depicting example commingled primary and secondarybooks.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example book making process that may becarried out by the controller of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting an example method that may be used toimplement an example gathering process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting an example method that may be used toimplement an example stitching process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting an example method that may be used toimplement an example trimming process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting an example method that may be used toimplement an example secondary book feeding process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting an example method that may be used toimplement an example personalization process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram depicting an example method that may be used toimplement an example bundling process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 depicts an example processor system that, in general, may be usedto implement the example methods and systems described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although the following discloses example systems including, among othercomponents, software or firmware executed on hardware, it should benoted that such systems are merely illustrative and should not beconsidered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or allof these hardware and software components could be embodied exclusivelyin hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware or in somecombination of hardware, firmware and/or software. Accordingly, whilethe following describes example systems, persons of ordinary skill inthe art will readily appreciate that the examples are not the only wayto implement such systems.

In general, the example methods and systems described herein may be usedto combine mail streams in a binding line. For example, to reducemailing postage or fees associated with delivering mailings (e.g.,books, magazines, catalogs, flyers, and/or any other mailing) thebinding line (e.g., an example book making system 100 illustrated inFIG. 1A) may combine each of a plurality of primary books from a firstmail stream with secondary books from a second mail stream. In anexample implementation, each primary book and secondary book that arecombined are addressed to the same recipient. In another exampleimplementation, the primary book is addressed to a first recipient andthe secondary book is addressed to a second recipient having a deliveryaddress that is on the same mail delivery route as the delivery addressof the first recipient on a mail delivery route. In some cases, thedelivery address of the first recipient may be substantially adjacent(e.g., neighboring) the delivery address of the second recipient. Unliketraditional systems that combine mail streams by laying or arrangingrespective primary and secondary books (i.e., primary and secondarybooks addressed to the same recipient or to neighboring recipients) in aside-by-side configuration and subsequently stacking the respectiveprimary and secondary books, the example systems and methods describedbelow may be used to increase the throughput and efficiency of a bindingline that combines mail streams by feeding secondary books or depositingsecondary books onto primary books to form stacks of primary andsecondary books as the primary books are advanced on the binding line.Stacking or overlaying secondary books on primary books as the primarybooks are moved along a binding line reduces the amount of spacerequired for merging mail streams to obtain reduced mailing postage orfees.

In an example implementation, the example methods and systems describedherein may also be used to determine when a secondary book is not to beoverlaid onto a primary book, thus, requiring a gap or space (i.e., anempty book position or a reserved book position) between two primarybooks or between two book positions to feed a secondary book between thetwo book positions. An example criterion used to determine whether asecondary book is to be deposited onto a primary book involvesdetermining whether a last addressee (e.g., a subscriber) on a mailroute is a recipient of a secondary book, but not a recipient of aprimary book. In this case, instead of depositing a primary book on abook position associated with the last mail route addressee, an emptybook position is created at a primary book station (e.g., a gatheringsection 102 of FIG. 1A) that is subsequently filled with a secondarybook at a secondary book feeding station.

In some example implementations that use a secondary book feeder systemconfigured to overlay two or more secondary books onto a primary book,empty book positions may be substantially eliminated by depositing twoor more secondary books onto a primary book. For example, if a lastaddressee on a mail route is a recipient of a secondary book, but not aprimary book, a secondary book feeder system may deposit two secondarybooks onto a primary book as the primary book is moved along the line.In this case, the primary book may be addressed to a first recipient,the first secondary book may be addressed to a second recipientneighboring the first recipient on the mail route, and the secondsecondary book may be addressed to a third recipient (e.g., the lastaddressee on the mail route) neighboring the second recipient on themail route. In this manner, all empty book positions may besubstantially eliminated, thus, increasing the throughput of a bindingline and sorting line. Although the recipients are described asneighboring recipients, the recipients may not be next door neighbors orbe located physically adjacent one another on a mail route. Instead, insome implementations, a secondary book recipient and a primary bookrecipient may have mailing addresses that are separated by one or moremailing addresses on a mail route not intended to receive either aprimary book or a secondary book.

In example implementations that use a secondary book feeder systemconfigured to overlay two or more secondary books onto a primary book,empty book positions may be created if a particular mail route includesrelatively more recipients of secondary books than primary books. Forexample, if a secondary book feeder system is configured to overlaythree or less secondary books on a primary book and a mail routeincludes four consecutive addressees that are recipients of secondarybooks, but not primary books, then an empty book position may be createdadjacent to a primary book on a line. In this case, the secondary bookfeeder system may deposit three secondary books on the primary book thatare addressed to the first three recipients of the secondary books andsubsequently deposit the fourth secondary book intended for the fourthrecipient of the secondary book onto the empty book position.

As described in greater detail below, an example binding line forms aplurality of primary books using, for example, a saddle stitch bindingmethod. For each book position in the binding line, a controllerdetermines whether a primary book is associated with a secondary book(e.g., determines if a primary book and a secondary book are addressedto the same recipient or to recipients listed consecutively on a mailroute or a mail list). If two consecutive primary books are associatedwith respective secondary books, the controller causes the binding lineto gather or create the primary books on two book positions adjacent toone another without an interposing empty book position between theprimary books. In this manner, a secondary book feeder can subsequentlyfeed or deposit respective secondary books onto the primary books as theprimary books are moved along the line. However, if the controllerdetermines that a particular book position is associated with asecondary book, but not a primary book (e.g., a last addressee on a mailroute is a recipient of the secondary book, but not the primary book),then the controller causes the binding line to create a gap or an emptybook position reserved for a secondary book or the controller causes thebinding line not to create an empty book position and instead causes asecondary book feeder system to deposit (e.g., overlay) two secondarybooks onto a primary book.

Now turning to FIG. 1A, an example book making system 100 generallyincludes a gathering section 102 that feeds gathered signatures to astitcher 104, which stitches the gathered signatures into primary books.From the stitcher 104, the primary books are routed to a trimmer 106that trims the edges of the signatures that form the primary books.Collectively, the gathering section 102, the stitcher 104 and thetrimmer 106 are used to form a primary book source.

After trimming, the primary books pass a secondary book feeder system108 (i.e., a secondary book source) where secondary books areselectively commingled with the primary books. The secondary bookshandled by the secondary book feeder system 108 are, in the example ofFIG. 1A, preprinted and bound books that may be perfect bound, saddlestitched or bound in any other desirable way. The secondary books areprovided to the secondary book feeder system 108 via pallet or conveyorline.

After the books from the primary and secondary sources are commingled atthe secondary book feeder system 108, the books are personalized oraddressed by a printer 110 and passed to a stacker 112. The stacker 112bundles the primary and secondary books to obtain postal servicediscounts based on bundled mailings that are destined to the samegeneral geographic location (e.g., associated with the same postalcode). Additionally, books from the secondary source can be commingledwith pre-addressed messaging already applied to the secondary books in aseparate operation.

In particular, the gathering section 102 includes a number of pockets112-120 above which a number of signatures 122-130 are disposed.Although only five example pockets are designated in FIG. 1A, thegathering section 102 may include any number of pockets, such as, forexample, 18 pockets. A saddle chain 132 having a number of saddles,three of which are shown in FIG. 1A at reference numeral 134, disposedthereon passes under the pockets 112-120. Collectively, the saddle chain132 and the saddles 134 may be referred to as a line. Each of thesaddles 134 is associated with a particular book position such that afirst saddle 134 comprises a first book position, a second saddle 134comprises a second book position, etc. Generally, in operation, each ofthe pockets 112-120 opens its respective signature (e.g., signatures122-130) and deposits the same on a saddle 134 of the saddle chain 132.A motor 135 or other drive mechanism is provided to advance the saddlechain 132. As the saddles 134 advance under the pockets 112-120, thesignatures 122-130 are gathered into books. For example, the firstsignature 122 forms the middle two sheets of, for example, a magazine.The second signature 124 forms the second sheets from the middle, and soon until the last signature 130 is placed onto a saddle 134 as the frontand rear cover of the magazine. Although in the illustrated example thegathering section 102 is implemented using a saddle stitch binding, inother example implementations, the gathering section 102 may beimplemented using a square-back binding line, a perfect-bound bindingline, a patent-bound binding line, or any other type of binding line.

While the foregoing generally describes the operation of the gatheringsection 102, as described below, the gathering section 102 is controlledto form a primary book on one of the saddles 134 that is associated witha book position intended to receive a primary book and a secondary book.In this manner, the secondary book feeder system 108 can subsequentlydeposit a secondary book onto the primary book as the primary book ismoved through the example book making system 100. Additionally, in someexample implementations, for each one of the saddles 134 associated witha last addressee on a mail route that is a recipient of a secondarybook, but not a primary book, the gathering section 102 is controlled toselectively leave that saddle 134 free from signatures to create a gapor an empty book position in the line of gathered primary books. The gapin the line of gathered books is perpetuated throughout the entiresystem until the gap reaches the secondary book feeder system 108, whichinserts a completed secondary book into the gap in the line.Alternatively, in other example implementations in which a secondarybook feeder system is configured to deposit two or more secondary booksonto a primary book, the gathering section 102 may be controlled toleave substantially no empty book positions in the line and thesecondary book feeder system is instructed to deposit two or moresecondary books onto a primary book when, for example, one or more lastaddressee(s) on mail routes are recipients of secondary books, but notprimary books.

The gathered books are passed from the gathering section 102 to thestitcher 104 where, for example, the spines of the books are stapled.The output of the stitcher 104 passes to a first mail table 136. Themail table 136 is segmented, for example, in 15 inch increments and theprimary books output from the stitcher 104 are filled into the segmentsof the mail table. If no book (e.g., an empty book position) is providedto the stitcher 104 by the gathering section 102, the mail table 136 isadvanced nonetheless, thereby leaving a gap or an empty book position inthe line for a secondary book to be inserted at a later point in thesystem 100.

The mail table 136 feeds a turn 138 that joins the mail table 136 and aconveyor 140 at approximately a right angle. As noted previously, insome example implementations, the mail table 136 may include a gap forat least one of the secondary books 150-154 to be later deposited if,for example, a last addressee on a mail route is a recipient of asecondary book, but not a primary book. The spacing is maintained by theturn 138, and, accordingly, the conveyor 140 is advanced whether or notthe turn 138 passes a book to the conveyor 140.

The conveyor 140 feeds the trimmer 106, which, as described above, trimsthe edges of the books provided thereto. In example implementations inwhich empty book positions are created on the on the conveyor 140 forsecondary books, the trimmer 106 will not always receive a book fortrimming. Accordingly, the trimmer 106 may not always need to actuate.The output of the trimmer 106 which, in some cases, is a trimmed bookand in other cases may be nothing (e.g., an empty book position), ispassed to a second mail table 142.

The secondary book feeder system 108 includes a number of secondaryfeeders, three of which are shown at reference numbers 144-148 andcontain secondary books 150-154, respectively. The secondary books150-154 may be the same or different from one another. As described infurther detail below, when a primary book or an empty book position onthe mail table 142 associated with a secondary book is disposed underone of the secondary feeders 144-148, the secondary feeder over theprimary book or the book position is selectively actuated to deposit asecondary book onto the primary book or the empty book position on themail table 142. In some example implementations in which the secondarybook feeder system 108 is configured to deposit two or more secondarybooks onto a book position (e.g., onto a primary book), the secondaryfeeder 144 may deposit a first secondary book on a primary book and thesecondary feeder 146 may deposit a second secondary book on the primarybook as the primary book is moved along the second mail table 142.

After the secondary books are deposited, the mail table 142 passes theprimary and secondary books by the printer 110 that may address orotherwise customize or personalize any or all of the books (eitherprimary or secondary) on the mail table 142. The books are then providedto the stacker 112, and the stacker 112 bundles the books to receiveavailable mailing discounts.

In practice the foregoing-described gathering section 102, stitcher 104,trimmer 106 and stacker 112 may be implemented using a system availablefrom Müller Martini, Ltd., under the model name of Tempo. However, aswill be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art,gathering, stitching, trimming and stacking systems are commerciallyavailable from other sources, such as, for example, Heidelberg andMcCain. Additionally, the secondary feeders 144-148 may be implementedusing feeders commercially available from Buhrs® or Streamfeeder, LLC.In an example implementation, the secondary feeders 144-148 areimplemented using the Buhrs® 4000 system from Buhrs®. In another exampleimplementation, the secondary feeders 144-148 may be implemented usingStreamfeeder® model XL 1200 from Streamfeeder, LLC.

While the foregoing has addressed the components of the system 100germane to paper, signature and book handling and has generally outlinedthe operation of the system, the following is pertinent to controlaspects of the system 100. In particular, the system 100 includes acontroller 160 having an associated database 162. In the example of FIG.1A, the controller 160 may be implemented using a Maverick controllermodel Video Jet VIP 9500 binding line control system. In thealternative, the controller 160 could be any processing unit, such as amicroprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic controller (PLC)or any other suitable logic device. Also, the controller 160 and/or thedatabase 162 may be implemented using a processor system such as, forexample, an example processor system 900 of FIG. 9. The controller 160may include a memory into which machine executable instructionsimplementing one or more control routines (e.g., control routines basedon flow diagrams of FIGS. 2-7) may be stored. The controller 160 isinterfaced to, and controls the pockets 112-120, the motor 135, thestitcher 104, the turn 138, the trimmer 106, the secondary feeders144-148, the printer 110 and the stacker 112.

The database 162, which may be implemented as any suitablemachine-readable media, stores name and address information foraddressees or recipients. To determine whether a particular addressee isto receive a primary book and/or a secondary book, the database may alsoinclude information indicating whether a particular addressee is arecipient of the primary book and/or the secondary book. In analternative implementation, the controller 160 may determine whether anaddressee is a recipient of a primary book and/or a secondary book bycomparing name and address information associated with the primary andsecondary books to find matches. The information in the database 162dictates how the controller 160 will control the various components ofthe system 100.

FIG. 1B is a diagram of a portion of the example book making system 100(FIG. 1A) depicting example commingled primary and secondary books.Specifically, FIG. 1B illustrates a plurality of primary books 156 onthe second mail table 142 without any empty book positions between theprimary books 156. FIG. 1B also illustrates a plurality of secondarybooks 150-154 deposited by the secondary feeders 144-148 onto theprimary books 156. As shown, an example book position 158 a isassociated with one of the primary books 156, but none of the secondarybooks 150-154. In this case, when the primary book 156 is moved alongthe mail table 142, none of the secondary feeders 144-148 are actuatedto deposit any of the secondary books onto the primary book 156. Anotherexample book position 158 b is associated with one of the primary books156 and two of the secondary books 152 and 154. In this case, when theprimary book 156 is moved along the mail table 142, the secondaryfeeders 146 and 148 are actuated to deposit secondary books 152 and 154,respectively, onto the primary book 156. The primary book 156 and thesecondary books 152 and 154 may be addressed to the same recipient, oreach of the books 152, 154, and 156 may be addressed to differentrecipients that appear consecutively on a mail listing for a particularmail route.

As shown in FIG. 1C, in some example implementations in which thesecondary book feeder system 108 is configured to deposit only onesecondary book onto a primary book, an empty book position 160 may becreated when a last addressee on a mail route is a recipient of thesecondary book, but not the primary book. An example book position 162 amay include one of the primary books 156, while an example book position162 b that previously included a space, gap, or otherwise an empty bookposition (e.g., the empty book position 160) may include one of thesecondary books 150 (or one of the other secondary books 152 or 154).

Turning to FIG. 2, an example book making process 200 carried out by thecontroller 160 is shown as including a merging mail list process (block202), a gathering process (block 204), a stitching process (block 206),a trimming process (block 208), a secondary book feeding process (block210), a personalization process (block 212) and a bundling process(block 214). When the system 100 is operating, each of the processes(blocks 202-214) may be performed in parallel. However, for ease ofunderstanding, the following description refers to the processes (blocks202-214) as being sequential.

Initially, the controller 160 (FIG. 1A) performs the merging mail listprocess (block 202). During the merging mail list process at block 202,the controller 160 obtains two or more mail lists including names andaddresses of recipients and merges the two or more mail lists togenerate a master mail list. The controller 160 may obtain the two ormore mail lists from the database 162 (FIG. 1A) or from any other datasource and store the master mail list in the database 162. Thecontroller 160 can sort the names and addresses in the master mail listbased on zip code, street address, recipient name, etc., to enableforming geographically organized mail bundles eligible for reducedpostage rates. The controller 160 also sorts the names and addresses toidentify whether addressees are recipients of primary books and/orsecondary books and/or whether a recipient of primary book is listedadjacent a recipient of a secondary book on a particular mail route.

A flow diagram illustrated in FIG. 3 depicts an example method that maybe used to implement the gathering process of block 204 (FIG. 2) (i.e.,the gathering process 204). As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 160 (FIG.1A) retrieves finishing information (e.g., the master mailing list) fromthe database 162 (FIG. 1A) (block 302). The finishing information mayinclude a series of addressees to receive books, their mailing addressesand an indication of whether a particular addressee is to receive aprimary book and/or a secondary book.

After saddles (e.g., the saddles 134 of FIG. 1A) are positioned underthe pockets 112-120 (FIG. 1A), the controller 160 determines if asecondary book is associated with any saddle 134 under one of thepockets 112-120 (block 304). For example, the controller 160 maydetermine based on the finishing information obtained at block 302 ifany addressees associated with book positions of the saddles 134 underthe pockets 112-120 are recipients of a secondary book. Additionally oralternatively, the controller 160 may determine if for the saddles 134,the finishing information includes a recipient of a primary book listedadjacent a recipient of a secondary book for a particular mail route.

If the controller 160 determines at block 304 that any one or more ofthe book positions of the saddles 134 is to receive a secondary book,then the controller 160 determines if all of the secondary books are tooverlay a primary book (block 306). For example, in an exampleimplementation in which the secondary book feeder system 108 isconfigured to deposit two or more secondary books onto a primary book,then the controller 160 determines that all of the secondary booksidentified at block 304 are to overlay primary books. However, thecontroller 160 may determine that not all secondary books identified atblock 304 are to overlay primary books if a secondary book feeder systemis configured to overlay less secondary books on a primary book (or abook position) than a number of consecutive addressees on a mail routethat are recipients of secondary books, but not primary books. In thiscase, not all of the secondary books identified at block 304 are tooverlay primary books and one or more empty book positions may becreated to accommodate some of the secondary books at the secondary bookfeeder system 108.

In example implementations in which the secondary book feeder system 108is configured to deposit only one secondary book on a primary book, thenthe controller 160 may determine based on the finishing informationobtained at block 302 if any of the saddles 134 is associated with alast addressee on a mail route that is a recipient of a secondary book,but not a primary book. In this case, if one of the saddles 134 isassociated with a last addressee on a mail route that is a recipient ofa secondary book, but not a primary book, then the controller 160determines at block 306 that not all of the secondary books identifiedat block 304 are to overlay primary books.

If the controller 160 determines at block 306 that not all of thesecondary books identified at block 304 are to overlay primary books,then the controller 160 causes all of the pockets 112-120 to actuateexcept those pockets associated with an empty book position (e.g., abook position associated with a last addressee on a mail route that isintended to receive a secondary book, but not a primary book) (block308). In this manner, each of the empty book positions can besubsequently filled as described below in connection with FIG. 6 by thesecondary book feeder system 108.

If the controller 160 determines at block 304 that none of the saddlesunder one of the pockets 112-120 is associated with a secondary book, orif the controller 160 determines at block 306 that each of the secondarybooks identified at block 304 is to overlay a primary book, then thecontroller actuates all of the pockets 112-120 (block 310). In thismanner, as described below in connection with FIG. 6, the secondary bookfeeder system 108 can feed none, one or more secondary books onto anyprimary book based on the finishing information obtained at block 302.

After the controller 160 causes all of the pockets 112-120 to actuate atblock 310, or after the controller 160 causes some of the pockets112-120 to actuate at block 308, the line (e.g., the saddle chain 132 ofFIG. 1A) is advanced (block 312). Advancing the line 132 after actuatingall of the pockets 112-120 at block 310 results in filling each of thesaddles 134 under the pockets 112-120 regardless of whether an addresseeis a recipient of only a primary book, only a secondary book or arecipient of both primary and secondary books. Thus, in exampleimplementations in which the secondary book feeder system 108 isconfigured to deposit two or more secondary books onto a primary book,even if a last addressee on a mail route is a recipient of a secondarybook, but not a primary book, no empty book positions are created in theline 132, thus increasing the throughput of the example book makingsystem 100 when merging mailing streams. Advancing the line 132 withoutactuating one or more of the pockets 112-120 at block 304 results increating an empty book position in any of the saddles 134.

The controller 160 then determines if the gathering process 202 iscomplete (block 314). If the gathering process 202 is not complete,control is passed back to the operation of block 304. Otherwise, if thecontroller 160 determines at block 314 that the gathering process 202 iscomplete, control is returned to a calling function or process such as,for example, the example book making process 200 depicted in the flowdiagram of FIG. 2.

As described above, the controller 160 determines if a primary bookshould be gathered in the gathering section 102 based on the mastermailing list stored in the database 162 and causes the gathering section102 to gather signatures to create primary books on an as-needed basis.In other words the controller 160 implements a demand-driven productionof the primary books based on the master mailing list to reduce orsubstantially eliminate a surplus of primary books on the line. In thismanner, in example implementations in which the secondary book feedersystem 108 deposits secondary books onto empty book positions, theexample book making system 100 may be configured to operate withoutusing any buffer areas or book storage areas in which to store a surplusof primary books when relatively more addressees in the mailing list arerecipients of secondary books than primary books. Eliminating the needfor any buffer areas reduces the floor space and the cost associatedwith implementing the example book making system 100.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram that depicts an example method thatmay be used to implement the stitching process of block 206 (FIG. 2)(i.e., the example stitching process 206). As shown in FIG. 4, thecontroller 160 (FIG. 1A) begins by determining if there is a book in thestitcher 104 (block 402). If there is a book in the stitcher 104, thebook is stitched (block 404) and the line is advanced (block 406).Alternatively, if there is no book in the stitcher 104 (i.e., an emptybook position on the line intended for a secondary book has reached thestitcher 104), the line is advanced (block 406). After the line isadvanced (block 406), control is returned to the book making process 200(FIG. 2), which continues operation at the trimming process (block 208)(FIG. 2).

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram depicting an example method that maybe used to implement the trimming process of block 208 (FIG. 2) (i.e.,the trimming process 208). As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 160 (FIG.1A) determines if a book is in the trimmer 106 (block 502). If there isa book in the trimmer 106 (block 502), the book is trimmed (block 504)and the line is advanced (block 506). Alternatively, if an empty bookposition in the line has reached the trimmer 106 and the trimmer 106 isempty (block 502), the line is advanced (block 506), without theactuation of the trimmer 106. After the line is advanced (block 506),control is returned to the book making process 200 (FIG. 2), whichcontinues operation at the secondary book feeding process (block 210)(FIG. 2).

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram depicting an example method that maybe used to implement the secondary book feeding process of block 210(FIG. 2) (i.e., the secondary book feeding process 210). As shown inFIG. 6, the controller 160 determines if any of the secondary feeders144-148 has been instructed to deposit or feed a secondary book (block602). For example, in an example implementation in which the secondarybook feeder system 108 is configured to deposit only one secondary bookonto a primary book, any of the secondary feeders 144-148 may beinstructed to feed a secondary book onto an empty book positionassociated with a last addressee on a mail route that is a recipient ofa secondary book, but not a primary book. Also, any of the secondaryfeeders 144-148 may be instructed to feed a secondary book onto a bookposition having a primary book for an addressee that is a recipient ofboth primary and secondary books. Of course, any of the secondaryfeeders 144-148 may be instructed to deposit or feed a secondary book inany case in which book positions under the secondary feeders 144-148 areintended to receive a secondary book.

In an example implementation in which each of the secondary feeders144-148 feeds a different book title (e.g., the secondary feeder 144feeds a first magazine title, the secondary feeder 146 feeds a secondmagazine title, and the secondary feeder 148 feeds a catalog), two ormore of the secondary feeders 144-148 may be instructed to deposit arespective book onto a particular book position as the book positiontraverses the secondary book feeder system 108. Thus, in some exampleimplementations, the secondary book feeder system 108 may be used tocreate and output to the mail table 142 stacks of three or more booksincluding a primary book and two or more different secondary books(e.g., a stack including a first book title, a second book title, athird book title, etc.).

If the controller 160 determines at block 602 that any of the secondaryfeeders 144-148 has been instructed to feed a secondary book, then theones of the secondary feeders 144-148 instructed to deposit a secondarybook are actuated (block 604). After some or all of the secondaryfeeders 144-148 are actuated at block 604, or if the controller 160determines at block 602 that none of the secondary feeders 144-146 wasinstructed to deposit a secondary book, the line is advanced (block606). Control is then returned to the book making process 200 (FIG. 2),which continues operation at the personalization process (block 212)(FIG. 2).

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram depicting an example method that maybe used to implement the personalization process of block 212 (FIG. 2)(i.e., the personalization process 212). In the illustrated example, thepersonalization process 212 is implemented using the printer 110 toprint custom information onto the books on the mail table 142. As shownin FIG. 7, the controller 160 determines if a book below the printer 110(either a primary book or a secondary book) requires personalization(block 702). Whether personalization is needed is determined byinformation in the database 162, as well as the book (or absence of abook) below the printer 110. For example, the database 162 may notspecify any personalization information for a particular book, in whichcase nothing will be printed on the book below the printer 110.

If personalization is needed (block 702), the personalizationinformation (e.g., the information to be printed on a book below theprinter 110) is read from the database 162 (block 704) and is printedonto the book (block 706). Personalization information may includenames, addresses, textual messages, graphics or any other textual orgraphical information that may be printed onto a book by the printer110.

After the personalization information is read and printed onto the book(blocks 704 and 706), or if the controller 160 determines at block 702that a book under the printer 110 does not require personalization, theline is advanced (block 708). Advancing the line places a next bookposition below the printer 110 that may include one or more books (e.g.,a primary book and/or a secondary book). Control is then returned to thebook making process 200 (FIG. 2), which continues operation at thebundling process (block 214) (FIG. 2).

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram depicting an example method that maybe used to implement the bundling process of block 214 (FIG. 2) (i.e.,the bundling process 214). As shown in FIG. 8, the stacker 112segregates books by postal code (block 802) and bundles the segregatedbooks (block 804). Because the secondary books and primary books are fedor deposited onto the line according to a master mailing list that hasbeen sorted according to postal zip codes and addresses, the primary andsecondary books output from the mail table 142 to the stacker 112 are,by definition, sorted. For example, if Jane Smith residing at 102Someway Ave. is designated in the database 162 as intended to receive asecondary book and a primary book, and if Jane's next-door neighbor JohnSmith residing at 104 Someway Ave. is designated in the database 162 asintended to receive a primary book, but not a secondary book, thesecondary and primary books addressed to Jane Smith may be stacked onthe line in a first book position immediately adjacent to a second bookposition having the primary book addressed to John Smith.

Although for some example implementations the foregoing describes thegathering section 102 as creating gaps or empty book positions in theline that are perpetuated by components of the system to create gaps inthe line at the mail table 142, the gaps for secondary books could becreated any number of other ways. For example, any of the system 100components could be used to advance the line without providing a primarybook component thereto. In particular, the trimmer 106 could becontrolled to advance the line to make room in the line for one or moresecondary books.

FIG. 9 depicts an example processor system 900 that, in general, may beused to implement the example methods and systems described herein. Theexample processor system 900 includes a processor 902 having associatedsystem memory 904. The system memory 904 may include one or more of arandom access memory (RAM) 906, a read only memory (ROM) 908, and aflash memory 910, or any other type of memory device.

The processor 902, in the example of FIG. 9, is coupled to an interface,such as a bus 914 to which other peripherals or devices areinterfaced/coupled. In the illustrated example, the peripheralsinterfaced to the bus 914 include an input device 916, a mass storagecontroller 920 communicatively coupled to a mass storage memory 912(e.g., a hard disk drive), and a removable storage device drive 926. Theremovable storage device drive 926 may include associated removablestorage media 928, such as magnetic or optical media. The exampleprocessor system 900 of FIG. 9 also includes a display device 930 and anaudio device 932, both of which are peripherals coupled to the bus 914.

The example processor system 900 may be, for example, a conventionaldesktop personal computer, a notebook computer, a workstation or anyother computing device. The processor 902 may be any type of processingunit, such as a microprocessor from Intel or any other processormanufacturer.

The memories 906, 908, and 910, which form some or all of the systemmemory 904, may be any suitable memory devices and may be sized to fitthe storage demands of the system 900. The ROM 908, the flash memory910, and the mass storage memory 912 are non-volatile memories.Additionally, the mass storage memory 912 may be, for example, anymagnetic or optical media that is readable by the processor 902.

The input device 916 may be implemented using a keyboard, a mouse, atouch screen, a track pad, microphone, or any other device that enablesa user to provide information to the processor 902. Further examples mayinclude a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a remotecontrol, etc.

The removable storage device drive 926 may be, for example, an opticaldrive, such as a compact disk-recordable (CD-R) drive, a compactdisk-rewritable (CD-RW) drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD) drive orany other optical drive. It may alternatively be, for example, amagnetic media drive. The removable storage media 928 is complimentaryto the removable storage device drive 926, inasmuch as the media 928 isselected to operate with the drive 926. For example, if the removablestorage device drive 926 is an optical drive, the removable storagemedia 928 may be a CD-R disk, a CD-RW disk, a DVD disk, or any othersuitable optical disk. On the other hand, if the removable storagedevice drive 926 is a magnetic media device, the removable storage media928 may be, for example, a diskette, or any other suitable magneticstorage media.

The display device 930 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display(LCD) monitor, a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, or any other suitabledevice that acts as an interface between the processor 902 and a user'sor observer's visual sense. Furthermore, the display device 930 may bepart of a conventional television.

The example processor system 900 also includes a network adapter 936that provides network connectivity between the processor 902 and anetwork 940. As shown in FIG. 9, further processor systems 944 may becoupled to the network 940, thereby providing for information exchangebetween the processor 902 and the processors of the processor systems944.

Although certain methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture havebeen described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. To the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scopeof the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine ofequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: analyzing a mailing listincluding a plurality of addresses; associating a primary book with afirst set of the addresses; associating a secondary book with a secondset of the addresses; creating multiple primary books on a productionline; and depositing multiple secondary books in the production line. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first set and the second set overlap.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set and the second set arethe same.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the secondarybooks are deposited on one or more primary books.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein two or more secondary books are deposited on one or moreprimary books.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more secondarybooks are deposited on a portion of the production line free of theprimary books.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising: associatinga tertiary book with a third set of the addresses; and depositing one ofmore of the tertiary books in the production line.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein one of more of the secondary books are deposited on oneor more of the primary books and one or more of the tertiary books aredeposited on one or more of the secondary books or the primary books. 9.A system comprising: a controller to: analyze a mailing list including aplurality of addresses; associate a primary book with a first set of theaddresses; and associate a secondary book with a second set of theaddresses; and a binding line to create multiple primary books on aproduction line; and a feeder to deposit multiple secondary books in theproduction line.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first set andthe second set overlap.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first setand the second set are the same.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein thefeeder is to deposit one or more of the secondary books on one or moreprimary books.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the feeder is todeposit two or more secondary books on one or more primary books. 14.The system of claim 9, wherein the feeder is to deposit one or moresecondary books on a portion of the production line free of the primarybooks.
 15. The system of claim 9 wherein the controller is to associatea tertiary book with a third set of the addresses, and the feeder is todeposit one of more of the tertiary books in the production line. 16.The system of claim 9, wherein the feeder is to deposit (a) one of moreof the secondary books on one or more of the primary books and (b) oneor more of the tertiary books on one or more of the secondary books orthe primary books. 17-46. (canceled)
 47. A method comprising: creating adelivery order by combining mailing address data for a first printedmaterial and a second printed material; selecting an order of the firstprinted material and the second printed material to be positioned on aconveyor line based on the delivery order; positioning the first printedmaterial on the conveyor line; receiving a trim dimension of the firstprinted material to be trimmed; trimming the first printed material inaccordance with the trim dimension; positioning the second printedmaterial on the conveyor line; and producing bundles of the firstprinted material and the second printed material.
 48. The method ofclaim 47, wherein the first printed material includes a first title andthe second printed material includes a second title different that thefirst title.
 49. The method of claim 47, wherein the first printedmaterial and the second printed material are advanced on the conveyorline at the same time.
 50. A system comprising: a controller to: createdelivery order by combining mailing address data for a first printedmaterial and a second printed material; select an order of the firstprinted material and the second printed material to be positioned on aconveyor line based on the delivery order; receive a trim dimension ofthe first printed material to be trimmed; and produce bundles of thefirst printed material and the second printed material in a singleproduction run; a binding line to position the first printed material onthe conveyor line; a trimmer to trim the first printed material inaccordance with the trim dimension; and a feeder to position the secondprinted material on the conveyor line.
 51. The system of claim 50,wherein the first printed material includes a first title and the secondprinted material includes a second title different that the first title.52. The system of claim 50, wherein the binding line is to advance thefirst printed material and the second printed material on the conveyorline at the same time.